


quark, strangeness and charm

by janie_tangerine



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Caffeine Addiction, College, Dorks in Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Past Abuse, Physics, Pre-Slash, Science Bros, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 06:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13208034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janie_tangerine/pseuds/janie_tangerine
Summary: “Uhm, can I help you?”“My friend, there’s just one thing that can help me,” Poor Insomniac Bastard says, quite dramatically, as he reaches into his backpack and produces a can of Red Bull.He’s not going to do what I’m thinking he might, Bruce thinks, and then he watches in pure horror as he sees him pour the entirety of the can into the coffee cup.“Too bad then,” he keeps on, “I’m going to die. Cheers, man, it’s been good to know you.”Then he winks at Bruce and downsthe entire damned thing.Or: in which Bruce goes to MIT and makes a friend.





	quark, strangeness and charm

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm taking end of the year prompts on tumblr for kicks and I got asked for Bruce/Tony and [this tumblr post](http://earningbournvilles.tumblr.com/post/168451157871/m-azing-korrakun-my-favorite-college), whose content was, _my favorite college experience is when i had a 7am class and the kid next to me literally poured a monster energy drink into his coffee said “i’m going to die” and drank the whole thing_. And since I've been shipping this SINCE I SAW AVENGERS WHEN IT CAME OUT but I never got around to writing much of it if any, I'm catching the chance to do it. u__u 
> 
> Obligatory disclaimer as usual: the title is from an Hawkwind song and nothing belongs to me (I wish) and I really hope this is halfway decent /o\ *saunters back downwards*

Two weeks into MIT, Bruce isn’t _at all_ sure he’s going to manage the one month mark.

Never mind that he’s two years younger than anyone else and everyone looks at him the wrong way because they think he has connections or _something_ \- that, he had more or less taken into consideration. He had figured. Thing is, two weeks were more than enough for people to realize that he’s not here because he has _connections_ but because he earned his way in, and given that he hasn’t stayed back to try and talk to people because he has no idea of how to _not_ be awkward around people he doesn’t know, this - this isn’t going like it was supposed to.

It’s not _better_ than the last couple years of high school, it’s not making him feel any less alien or awkward, it’s not helping him sleep better at night, it’s not giving him any less anxiety about the entirety of his situation, it’s not making him worry any less that he’ll fuck his free ride up by making _something_ blow up, and in almost all of his classes he can see that _also_ his teachers are wary-ish around him even if they certainly look impressed.

At least _someone_ is impressed.

Still, his teachers being _impressed_ won’t change things in the long run. He might have hoped to make a few friends, or to _talk_ to someone, or to just not stick out like a sore thumb when surrounded by people who _should_ like the same things as he does and share the same passions, and instead -

Instead nothing’s changed except that at least no one he’s related to is in the picture, which is a _good_ thing, but still -

Still.

He doesn’t know if he’s going to reach the one month mark without being able to keep himself from snapping in the face of whichever will be the umpteenth person to walk around him as if he’s some kind of time-ticking bomb.

Especially if he keeps on having damned nightmares every other day, and the only positive thing is that at least if he’s woken up at five AM because of that then not only he’s never late for his Thursday seven AM Relativistic Quantum Field Theory I class, which he does enjoy greatly but should _never_ have been scheduled that early in the morning.

Actually, he’s _the first_ , usually, which hasn’t done anything to make people like him more since apparently he comes across as an overachiever, or so he’s heard other people whispering.

It’s in these admittedly very low spirits that he walks inside the room at six forty AM - he woke up at five and like _hell_ he was going to go back to sleep this time. (A few times he can, but _this_ one, it’s not happening.)

And then he realizes that someone else is in already.

For a moment, he’s tempted to flee and come back later, until he takes a better look and sees that - it’s actually someone his age? The other man can’t be older than eighteen for sure, and he’s about his height, with dark hair and a shadow of a beard that’s definitely there because he hasn’t shaved for a while rather than because he’s purposefully attempting to grow it.

He had no idea anyone else _his age_ was in this class, never mind in MIT.

His first instinct is still running, but hasn’t he wanted to _talk to people_ for this long? They’re alone, it’s not someone _that_ much older than he is and obviously it’s someone who must have sleeping issues, too, because usually people flock in at seven at best, seven ten in most cases, and good thing their teacher can be lenient.

Bruce swallows the last of the cup of tea he had gotten from the vending machine next to his room (single, no one wanted to room with _him_ of course, and he knows at least two people requested a transfer when they knew he was assigned to _them_ ) and moves closer to The Other Poor Insomniac Bastard, noticing that he has what looks like a full cup of steaming coffee on his desk.

Seen up close, the guy definitely hasn’t slept in the last two days or so given that his eyes are bloodshot and he has bags under his eyes no one their age should have.

“Right,” he says under his breath, “ _right_ , can’t risk missing this. Ah well, fine.”

“Uhm, can I help you?”

“My friend, there’s just one thing that can help me,” Poor Insomniac Bastard says, _quite_ dramatically, as he reaches into his backpack and produces a can of Red Bull.

_He’s not going to do what I’m thinking he might_ , Bruce thinks, and then he watches in pure horror as he sees him pour the entirety of the can _into the coffee cup._

“Too bad then,” he keeps on, “I’m going to die. Cheers, man, it’s been good to know you.”

Then he winks at Bruce and downs _the entire damned thing_.

For a long, long moment, Bruce _is_ sure that his new acquaintance _is_ going to get a heart attack instantly.

But then he somehow _doesn’t_ , or at least not immediately.

“Well, wow, great, always works. I’m good to go at least until this is over, then I can go crash. Wow, I shouldn’t have signed up for eight classes.”

“ _Eight_?”

“Never said I wasn’t a masochist, but at least I have the rest of the day free. At least if this is not interesting I can drop it.”

“Wait, is it why I’ve never seen you in here?”

“Yeah, I haven’t managed to attend yet because as you’ve seen I had yesterday’s schedule full but what the hell, I figured I should try it out before deciding to drop it.”

“You can’t be planning of drinking _that_ every time, though.”

“Ah, I can withstand a lot.”

“Please, I feel sick just thinking about what you’ve just drank down and honest, this class isn’t worth it.”

“… Not worth it?” Poor Insomniac Bastard says, _smiling_ widely.

Bruce shrugs. “Not really. I mean, I don’t want to start skipping classes and stuff, but it’s nothing I hadn’t known already. If you’re somehow familiar with Coleman’s work, it’s nothing new - uh, sorry.”

“Why?” The other man asks, and Bruce is taken aback.

“What?”

“Why did you apologize? Or better, why did you _stop_?”

He shrugs. “It’s just - you know, whenever I say that kind of things, people just assume I’m bragging.”

“There’s nothing bad in some bragging if you _know_ things, man. Shit, you’ve got to strut a bit instead of pretending you don’t know stuff. And I’m familiar with Coleman, damn it - if I had known I’d have ditched this class and went to bed. Ah, well, I’ve got another three hours before I completely crash. Say, what’s your name?”

“Uh, Bruce. Bruce Banner.”

He braces for the reply, hoping his new acquaintance doesn’t take it the way everyone else did -

And he’s baffled to see the other man’s eyes _about light up_.

“Excuse me, you’re saying you’re the only other person who managed to get a full ride _here_ before turning eighteen?”

“How - how do you know?”

“Because the dean actually told me that I wasn’t the only underage person around here when I enrolled, that’s why. And if you already are familiar with Coleman I can entirely see _why_ you would. You know what, let’s ditch this joint and discuss quantum physics at the cafeteria. How about _that_?”

“I - I don’t know, if I don’t attend -”

“Why should you if it bores the shit out of you, and why should _I_ when it bores the shit out of me? We’ll pass it regardless, no point in wasting time. And I totally can’t wait to talk to someone who’s _familiar with Coleman_ , shit, look at that. By the way, what were you interested in doing after we’re done with the horrible obligatory _preliminary_ classes that everyone has to take?”

Bruce doesn’t think _anyone_ has ever asked him what he was interested in doing _for real_ in his life.

“Physics, honestly. What - what about you?” He shouldn’t be finding this conversation _surreal_ , damn it.

“Engineering, but physic’s an entirely acceptable choice. So, are we ditching this joint or not?”

Bruce has never, _never_ missed a class in his life, if only because if he wasn’t interested, his piece of shit of a father would have had his hide if he has known.

But then he remembers having almost slept through this one class, last time he attended.

_You know what, maybe I really should strut a bit_ , he thinks.

“Fine,” he says, “I guess it can’t hurt.”

“Excellent! Then let’s just go before whoever teaches this pesky class comes back and we can’t run anymore.”

Bruce waits for him to grab his backpack and jacket and follows him out, throwing both their cups in the trash when he sees that his new acquaintance forgot to pick it back up.

Then, when they’ve gone through half of the hallway, he clears his throat.

“You know,” he says, “it’s been real nice talking to you, but you could have introduced yourself.”

The other man stops abruptly. “Wait, you don’t _know_?”

“… No?” Bruce asks. “Should I have?”

Warm brown eyes stare into Bruce’s for a moment before he erupts in… _genuine laughter_?

A hand ends up on his shoulder, clapping it strongly, and for the first time in his life he doesn’t flinch at a stranger touching him that carelessly.

“Man, you didn’t know - oh, you know what, I think we’ll make a _great_ team.”

“… Sorry?”

“Never mind that. Sorry, usually I’m not this rude, but people who come up at me do it knowing who I am already, _most times_. I’m Tony. Tony Stark.”

… oh, _fuck_. Has Bruce just chatted up the son of _Howard Stark_ , who - now that he thinks about it - he _knew_ got accepted into MIT way younger than the usual age and who’s some kind of natural born engineer and would have gotten ten free rides had he needed them, and -

“Don’t do that,” Tony says.  
  
“Don’t do what?”

“The few people who don’t kiss my ass already when they start talking to me who learn later, usually start worrying about getting on my good side or _something_ and _then_ start kissing my ass or trying to. And you were talking to me like, you know, _someone who wasn’t_ , and it was very refreshing. Please keep on doing that. And strutting. It looks good on you, man.”

“Oh - okay. Fine. Sorry, it just took me off guard, but - people don’t - really talk to me, usually. Period.”

For a moment, Tony looks entirely surprised to hear it, but then he shakes his head and in a move that Bruce decides _has_ to be happening because Tony’s drank _that much_ Red Bull and _that much_ coffee, he grabs Bruce’s arm and links it with his own.

“Then people are fucking stupid and it’s their loss if they don’t, but never let it be said that _I_ was an idiot. So, shall we? And _please_ do talk to me about quantum physics while we get there, I was dying to have a conversation with someone _interesting_.”

He’s still smiling at him.

Bruce can’t really believe it’s happening, but - okay. _Why the hell not_.

Seems like he’s going to make at least one friend, he thinks as he smiles back without even realizing he’s doing it, and then he _does_ talk about quantum physics without feeling like he’ll have to shut up lest other people assume he’s bragging.

By the time Tony’s killer cocktail has done its job and he crashes on Bruce’s bed, the following has happened: they have talked quantum physics for hours, Tony has found out that Bruce doesn’t have a roommate, then he has informed him that he doesn’t have one either because his father’s paid a single room for him without asking his opinion, then he has dragged Bruce to the students’ office to _sort their situation out_ and then has proceeded to move all his stuff - admittedly, a few suitcases and _a lot_ of books, _because his engineering stuff still has to be shipped_ \- to the empty half of Bruce’s room.

Ah, and then he proceeded to crash on _Bruce’s bed_ after telling him that drinking that killer cocktail was entirely worth it if he got _smart company_ in exchange for it.

Bruce has no idea what the hell his morning has just turned into, but he has a feeling that he’s going to get through that first month of college after all, and possibly through the first year, and he can’t stop grinning to himself.

No, that class was definitely _not_ wasted time at all.

 

 

End.


End file.
